


Switched

by Just_Another_Weirdo



Series: Janus's parents are assholes. Break their legs. [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Being each other for a day, Blood, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Deceit | Janus Sanders Angst, Homophobia, M/M, Minor Injuries, Not Beta Read, Physical Abuse, Switching bodies, Sympathetic Sides
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:48:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24614038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_Another_Weirdo/pseuds/Just_Another_Weirdo
Summary: Virgil doesn't understand why he's in Janus body all of the sudden. They were bickering in the gym, and suddenly, he was trapped in a body that wasn't his own.Janus's solution? Lie.If only Virgil had anticipated what Janus's life was like.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Dr. Emile Picani/Sleep | Remy Sanders, Next of them are only mentioned:
Series: Janus's parents are assholes. Break their legs. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1838788
Comments: 25
Kudos: 200





	Switched

**Author's Note:**

> My brain: You should finish your Heathers au's chapter.  
> Also my brain: What if Virgil and Janus switched bodies and everything went downhill?  
> My brain: But... Heathers au...  
> Also my brain: And we add Remus. And make everything gayer.  
> My brain: I give up.
> 
> (I'll continue my Heathers au some day)

Virgil Storm wasn’t friends with Janus Sanders. Janus Sanders was a popular smart ass, top of his class (currently fighting with Logan for the place) and member of the debate and theatre club. Virgil, on the other hand, was the trouble maker who never got in too much trouble, with a few close friends and no clubs. Unless hanging out in the back of the school during club hours was considered a club itself.

So when he got put in detention with the snake, he wanted to throw himself on a river.

But in the end, it had been Virgil’s fault. He was the one who had bumped into the snake, who had to be carrying paint around for some stupid reason. And now here he was, scrubbing the flor with a mop and trying to get it off the ground so he could just leave.

The teacher in charge had left after hearing some kids running in the hallway further away. Virgil was trapped with Janus.

“Why the fuck were you even carrying paint in the fucking gym?” Virgil said, resting on top of the mop and watching Janus scrub on his knees.

Janus rolled his eyes, scrapping the ground. “I was helping the theatre club. You know, because some of us actually have a social life?”

“Jerk” Virgil muttered under his breath, going back to moping. “You got paint in my hoodie”

Janus sighted. “Dude, you ran into me. So fuck off”

Virgil scoffed and continued moping. A few moments passed, and none of them said anything. Virgil kept moping, getting bored by the moment. He eyed Janus, who was scrapping the ground with determination. He seemed eager to finish.

Virgil smiled to himself, approaching Janus slowly. He smacked his side with the mop. “Oops.”

Janus turned to look at him. “Really?”

“It was an accident. Oops” He smacked Janus again. Janus grabbed the mop’s end, pulling Virgil to the ground.

“Oops.” He said, mocking his voice.

“Little shit” Virgil muttered, getting back on his feet. “Give that back”

Janus seemed to consider it for a second, before shrugging. “I don’t think I will.” He stood up. “I hope you enjoy scrubbing the floor on your knees, it’s so comfortable.”

Virgil jumped to his feet. “Give that back.” He growled. “Now.”

“Of course I will” Janus said sarcastically.

Virgil gritted his teeth, pushing Janus. Janus pushed back, not letting go of the mop. Virgil took a step back, pushing him even harder.

Janus tripped over the bucket of spoiled water, pulling Virgil with him to the ground. They both fell over the spilled water, Janus letting go of the mop.

Virgil closed his eyes at the impact, grunting as he became wet. “Great, you fucked up my jeans too. Fucking great.” He opened his eyes to look at Janus, and found himself looking at, well, himself.

Virgil looked at his hands. They were gloved, yellow, just like Janus’s had been. He looked at his clothes, and found out that he, in fact, was in Janus body.

Janus meanwhile, in Virgil’s body, was looking paler than what Virgil assumed was normal. “Is this a prank? Switch back. Now”

“I didn’t do this! You took my mop!!” Virgil complained, cringing at how weird his voice sounded.

Janus sat back up, touching his now (Virgil’s beforehand) body. “We need to switch back now.”

Virgil stood up, noticing how wet and sore he was. “Why does your body hurt so much?”

“I fell down the stairs.” Janus said, standing up. He placed the bucket back at its place and looked at the mess they’ve made. “God, what do we do now?”

“Eh… finish doing this?” Virgil proposed, starting to fully comprehend the gravity of the situation. “And then… avoid everyone until we switch back to normal?”

“We can’t avoid everyone, we’ll have to pretend to be the other ’til this ends” Janus said, grabbing the mop and tossing it to Virgil. “Let’s finish this and figure out how to do so”

“You expect me to lie to everyone?” Virgil said, anxiety creeping into him. “Ok, ok, deep breaths. How do we do this?” He started moping again, eager to finish as soon as posible.

Janus kneeled again, scrubbing the floor. “I, you, have to get home as soon as we finish. You know the address?”

“Roman took me there as a detour to pick up his brother, yes” Virgil said, remembering that disastrous evening.

“Good, go there, hurry the fuck up.” Janus instructed. “You got chores to do. And homework.”

“Dude, it’s Friday” Said Virgil, trying to find humor to this situation.

“I don’t care, you gotta clean the dishes or make them look at least as if they were clean. And don’t come out of my room.” Janus said, without looking at Virgil. “If my parents arrive, at least pretend you’re doing homework or tidying up the place.”

“Ok, sure, I can do that. It seems pretty boring though. Anything else?” Virgil said, looking for any more stains to clean. He found none

“Yes, you have to meet Remus in the park. I promised him I’d go.”

Virgil groaned “Remus? Of all people?” He expected Janus to have a basic level of self respect.

“He’s one of the only people who don’t lie to me, so yes. Remus.” Janus hissed. “You meet at six, although he probably will be late. You go back at home before eight. And go to bed at nine. I have things to do tomorrow.”

“How are you so sure that we’ll switch by night?” Virgil asked, resting his head on top of the mop. God, Janus was shorter than him, that was annoying. 

“I just am, ok?” Janus snapped, finally looking at him.

Virgil backed off. “Ok, ok, jeez. Anymore or can I start? I don’t want you to fuck up my life either”

Janus stopped scrubbing to look in the jacket’s pockets. He found Virgil’s notebook, a gift from Logan, more or less dry. “Here’s my password. Don’t look into my photos. Or my whatsapp. Only message me if it’s absolutely necessary, understood?” He wrote something on Virgil’s notebook and ripped the page to toss it to him.

“You’re a control freak.” Virgil pointed out, reading the code.

Janus ignored his comments. “What do I do with your life?”

“Oh, yeah, don’t look through my stuff.” Virgil said, trying to remember what he was going to do today. “Don’t talk to my brother or my parents, just tell them you’re tired. I doubt any of my friends would come over”

Janus smirked. “Didn’t know you had friends” He commented.

“Shut up.” Virgil replied quickly. “I don’t think they will, so no worries. Just, read something to pass time or do homework if you want.” He moved to get the bucket. “It’s only Friday, I can do that during the weekend, hoping we do switch during the night.”

“Ok, yeah, I can do that.” Janus said, standing up and throwing his wet cloth into the bucket. “Any more details?”

“Oh, yeah, don’t worry about Daisy, she’s been fed.” Virgil said, suddenly remembering his favourite person in the world.

“Daisy?” Janus asked confused.

“My tarantula” Virgil deadpanned.

Janus just looked more confused. “Who the fuck has a tarantula as a pet?”

Virgil talked back “Who the fuck does homework on a Friday?”

Before Janus could reply, they were cut off by the teacher, who sent them home. Janus bid his goodbyes with a “don’t fuck up” and Virgil started walking.

He almost instantly headed home, before remembering who he was supposed to be. He did his best to hurry up as Janus had asked, but goddamnit Janus’s heels were annoying. Why did the snake even wear them? He was still the shortest with them on.

He arrived finally, feet aching, to Janus house. He searched his pockets until he found the keys. He had to try several times to enter the house, due to both not knowing the key and his shaking hands.

Virgil didn’t know what to expect from Janus’s home. A big home, like those in movies that popular kids had. You know, the big lawn and the clean futuristic interior.

But, whatever he was actually expecting, it was not this.

The house was small, and most windows were closed with no light coming in. The kitchen was dirty and the sink filled with the dirty breakfast’s dishes. On the living room, Virgil caught glimpse of what he assumed was Janus’s mom, sleeping in the couch, with too many empty bottles in the coffee table.

He went up the stairs, into the first room he found which luckily ended up being Janus’s room. It was… blank. He had a desk and a bed. That and the closet, nothing more. The books he had were pilled next to the desk. An there weren’t many of those. Virgil left Janus’s backpack on the bed and took off his shoes. He decided to get the dishes done with and move on with the homework part.

As he cleaned the dishes, much to his disgust, he kept an eye for Janus’s mom. She didn’t seem to wake up at any moment, yet that didn’t stop his hands from shaking.

He decided to retrieve the glass bottles, walking softly to her side. He picked the bottles and went away quickly. He threw them in the rubbish bin among the others he found there and ran upstairs to Janus’s room. He closed the door and tried to even his breaths. Once he managed to breathe properly, he moved to grab the backpack and sit on the desk.

He searched through it, finding the agenda.

“This dude’s life sucks” He said, as he watched the large list of homework he had.

Janus entered Virgil’s home, after fighting with his key and headed straight to what he thought it was Virgil’s room. The house was bright and full of life. Janus ignored that and went upstairs, to the room labeled as ‘Virgil’. It was a mess of undone bed, dirty clothes on the ground and books out of his shelves.

Janus sighted, leaving the backpack on a corner and heading to the bed. He passed a container he refused to look in. He was not ready to meet Daisy. He made the bed quickly, then placed the books on the shelves by the best order he could and pilled up all the clothes in a pile. He figured the washing machine would be downstairs, so he grabbed the clothes and walked downstairs trying not to make noise.

As he rushed through the hallway, though, a voice called him, or, well, Virgil, from behind.

“Virgil!” A man in a sweater vest approached them. “You’re actually doing laundry today?” He took the clothes from Janus’s arms.

“Oh, yeah, they were cluttering around, so I thought I might do it.” Janus said, trying to match Virgil’s tone.

The man seemed satisfied. “About time. Anyways, you came late or is it just me?”

“I had to clean a mess I made. Sorry, I was an idiot. Won’t happen again, promise.” Janus said.

The man sighted. “Don’t call yourself that, Virge” He said, to Janus’s confusion. “You can come watch a movie with us. You know Dad has been waiting forever to watch it.”

“Not today” Janus said, trying to escape the situation. “I’m kinda tired. You know” he gestured to the paint stains on his clothes. “Cleaning is tiresome.”

“Oh, alright. You should probably change clothes too” The man said, and finally left Janus alone to his own devices.

Janus rushed to Virgil’s room quickly, considering closing the door. He decided against it, remembering how his parents hated it when he did so.

He pulled out Virgil’s agenda, which served more as a sketchbook than as an actual agenda. He had not much noted down, just some mathematics exercises.

Mathematics. The bane of Janus’s existence.

Virgil checked his (Janus’s) phone for the seventh time. Just five more minutes so he could leave this weird place. A message flicked on the screen.

_Unknown number: You have two dads?_

_Unknown number: And a little brother?_

_Deceit: Yes, don’t talk to Andy_

_Deceit: Got any problem with 2 dads?_

_Unknown number: No problem. Did you do the dishes?_

_Deceit: Yes_

_Deceit: Whats up with your mom?_

_Unknown number: Don’t bother her. Leave a note and get out, it’s six o’clock._

_Unknown number: And delete these messages._

_Deceit: K_

_Deceit: U control freak_

He deleted the chat and scribbled a quick note. He left it at the coffee table and hurried outside of the house. He ran to the park entrance, waiting.

Virgil had to wait for ten minutes before Remus arrived. Remus waved Roman off as he drove away. He then jogged to Virgil.

“Hey, Double Dee!!!!” Remus shouted, ignoring the fact that Virgil was next to him. “I missed you at theatre!”

Virgil watched the bouncing teenager for a few seconds. He then forced a smile, ignoring the weird nickname. “Hi, Rem” He said, trying to sound calm. Remus beamed. “Wanna go inside the park and play in the swings?”

Remus smiled too. “Yes! We can see who can jump higher!” He grabbed Virgil by the arm and pulled him into the park, and into the play zone. He let go of Virgil and sat in the nearest swing, waiting for Virgil.

Virgil decided not to say anything, sitting next to him. He started to swing slowly. Remus started swinging like a madman, and Virgil held back a laugh. Eventually, Remus jumped from the swing, falling a few meters ahead and stumbling. “Your turn!” He said, running back into the swing.

Virgil laughed, and started to swing faster.

He jumped, and instantly regretted it. He was wearing high hills. He landed on them, breaking the shoe and falling hard into the ground. If Janus’s body didn’t hurt as it was, Virgil was sure he just added a few bruises to the mix.

Remus rushed to his side, jumping of the swing more graciously than Virgil. “You ok? Did you break anything? A rib, a leg? Are you going to puke your insides out?”

Virgil tried to stand up, only to notice a sharp pain on his ankle. Remus held him, placing his arms around his waist. “I’m fine, god, don't say that. Just, I think I sprained my ankle”

Remus walked him to the nearest bench and sat him down. Then, he went to grab the remains of the shoe and left it beside Virgil. “Oh, thank god. You could’ve been impaled with a stick and then your intestines would be falling out and I would have to duck tape them…”

“Remus, you’re not helping.” Virgil said, fighting to get the remains of the shoe off him. “I need something cold. To help with the whole swollen…thing” he gestured to his leg.

Remus paused to think for a second, before grabbing Virgil bride stile and starting to walk. “I know the perfect place. It’s not far away.”

Virgil felt like protesting, but shut his mouth. Janus was going to kill him. God, for one thing he was supposed to do, keep out of trouble, and he wasn’t able of doing so.

Remus carried him to the centre of the park, where there were more people. There was an ice cream shop nearby, and that’s where Remus headed to.

He left Virgil carefully in a chair outside and rushed inside the shop. Virgil took advantage off the situation and grabbed his phone to message Janus. He then realised he had deleted the chat and that he didn’t remember his own phone number. He grumbled and placed the phone back in its pocket.

Just as he did that, Remus walked back to him, holding two ice cream cones. He sat down next to him and moved to place an ice cream on Virgil’s leg. Virgil stopped him, looking disgusted.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He asked, pushing the ice cream away.

Remus tilted his head confused. “You said you needed something cold.”

“Not ice cream!!” Virgil said. “I meant ice! Or water! Not ice cream!!”

Remus seemed to consider it and let go a soft ‘oh.’ He then offered both ice creams to Virgil. “Here, hold this. I got you your favourite, you can start eating. I’ll be right back.”

Virgil decided not to assume which flavor was Janus favourite and just waited until Remus came back with an ice packet wrapped in a cloth. Remus took back the mint ice cream while pressing the ice uncharacteristically softly into Virgil’s leg. So vanilla was Janus’s favourite. Virgil didn’t like vanilla. Still, he pushed himself to eat it, trying to hide his disgust.

They spent a few minutes this way, just eating ice cream in silence. Remus watched Virgil, who tried not to make eye contact. He concentrated on the ice cream, attempting to control his breath.

“You got ice cream in your face” Remus pointed out, making Virgil look at him.

“What?” Virgil asked, confused. Remus leaned in and licked his cheek. Virgil pushed him away. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing!??!”

Remus laughed, lying against his chair in a way only gays can do. “Oh, come on, can’t a guy lick his boyfriend?”

Boyfriend. _Boyfriend_. That little snake had said nothing about a boyfriend. Virgil felt like strangling the little shit.

“Not in public!! And not like” He gestured quickly, spilling ice cream on the table “This!!!”

Remus only laughed. “Come on, I’ve done worse.” He said, wiping a tear of laughter.

Virgil didn’t bother to respond, just grumbling under his breath. Janus had not warned him about this. He was not prepared to deal with the weird romantic side of his friend’s brother.

“Still, we’re in public. You can’t just lick me! God, you’re so gross” Virgil complained.

Remus pouted. “You liked me being gross…”

Virgil regretted his choice of words. He didn’t want to fuck up Janus’s relationship. “I like it, it’s just… I’m tired Rem. I’m really tired. I had a… bad day.” He tried to sound soft, though soft wasn’t his speciality. “And now, well, I have a bad day plus a sprained ankle. Thanks for the ice, though.”

Remus smiled again, and pecked Virgil on the lips. Virgil fought back a gag, and smiled too.

“Come on, it’s getting near your stupid curfew. I’ll carry you home” He said, throwing the rest of his ice cream to some pigeons. Virgil laughed and tossed it too.

“My hero” Virgil remarked sarcastically as Remus swept him off his feet. The ice packet fell forgotten to the ground.

Remus laughed and started walking to Janus’s house.

Janus didn’t know how to feel about Virgil’s family. They were loud. Not in the bad meaning of the word, but in the full of life and energy loud. He could hear him argue downstairs what to watch, while Andy, Virgil’s weird brother, tried to convince them to watch that one show Janus assumed he had watch a thousand times before, by the sound of it. The parents ended up giving up, and the show won.

And now, Janus couldn’t focus on mathematics. And he already had problems with them on his own, he didn’t need distractions.

He eyed the drawers. Virgil’s drawers. Maybe he had headphones or something. He opened one, finding a bunch of notebooks and sketchbooks. Janus scoffed. He hadn’t viewed Virgil as the arty guy. He opened the next one, finding a bunch of art supplies and finally, what he was looking for. A pair of noise cancelling headphones.

Enjoying music without the fear of getting surprised by one of your parents. Now, this was one opportunity in a lifetime.

He plugged it in Virgil’s phone and tried to find anything but emo music. He then gave up and pressed randomized. He wasn’t surprised when Set It Off started playing.

Remus left Virgil on the house’s porch. “Now this is our last stop. Please tip the driver” He said, grinning.

Virgil laughed. “My hero, bringing me home.” He relied on the wall, trying not to get much weight on his leg. He started searching for the right key. “Thanks for carrying me”

“Anything for my little snake” Remus said, cupping the vitiligo full part of Janus’s? Virgil’s? face. Virgil couldn’t help to blush. Remus laughed. He pressed his lips against Virgil’s for a second. “See you on Monday!” He then walked away, leaving a very flustered Virgil to his own devices.

Virgil cursed against his breath, and continued searching for the right key. He was going to murder Janus when they swapped bodies back to normal.

He entered the house, limping, and was surprised to find Janus’s mom in the kitchen. He was not so surprised to find out she was smoking. At least she had made dinner.

“I… erm…” Virgil, oh, so eloquently said, “I broke my shoes.”

“You’re not getting new ones.” The woman said, crossing her arms. “You’re late.” She gestured to the dish on the table. “Eat.”

Virgil left the shoes on the ground and limped to the chair, trying not to be noticeable. He started eating, anxiously looking back at the woman from time to time. She pulled out a near empty bottle of wine. Great. Now she was drinking _and_ smoking, just what Virgil needed.

“Who was that boy outside?” The woman promptly asked.

Virgil swallowed hard. “Just a friend from school. His name is Remus.” He said. He was, technically, not lying. To Virgil it was just a friend. To Janus? Virgil wasn’t going to assume.

“Oh.” The woman said, taking a sip from the bottle. “So you kiss all your friends, or just that… faggot. Remus?”

“Remus is not a f–…!!! Don’t call him that!! He’s my friend!!!” Virgil exclaimed, leaving his food behind.

“Don’t talk back to me” The woman hissed. “You will treat me with respect, son”

“I’ll treat you with respect the moment you earn that fucking respect” Virgil said.

The woman didn’t hesitate to smack him in the face with the bottle. Luckily, bottles take a lot more than just one hit to break. Not so luckily, Virgil fell to the ground, dragging his plate with him, which did shatter. And even with less luck, Virgil fell on top of the shreds, scrapping his knees.

“Go to your room. We’ll discuss this tomorrow with your father.” The woman said, leaving the bottle on the counter and going away.

Virgil took a moment to stand up, his leg complaining at the effort. He limped upstairs, and searched for the bathroom. He cleaned his cuts, grateful that they weren’t as severe as they felt, and threw himself to bed. He didn’t bother talking off his clothes, he just curled under the blankets, wishing that they were his favourite weighted blanket.

Roman hadn’t planned to visit Virgil today. He had been planning to drive Remus to his date and go to the cinema with Patton. However, Patton had a family emergency at the last moment (His sibling fell down the stairs), so they had to cancel.

That led to Roman hanging out with Logan, which he couldn’t complain about, which led to Logan asking him if he could hand Virgil the book Logan had borrowed. Which led to Roman agreeing. Which led to the situation at hand.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Roman entered Virgil’s house, greeting his parents with his usual “Doctor Emile/Mx Remy” and ruffling Andy’s hair. He liked the little Virgil, he was so different from his brother.

Then, he ran upstairs, headed to Virgil’s room. The door was open. That was odd. Virgil always closed his door. Open doors got him anxious.

He ignored that, entering the room. Virgil was facing his desk, too busy with homework to notice him. That, and the emo music blasting from his headphones. He smirked, and left the book on Virgils bed. He then approached slowly the emo nightmare.

He took a second to allow Virgil to notice him. He didn’t.

“Hey Virgil” He said, louder than usual, as he placed his hands on Virgil’s shoulders.

The reaction was almost immediate.

Virgil jumped off his seat, crashing into the ground. He crawled to get away, pulling the headphones away.

“Jeez, Virge, are you alright? I didn’t mean to fright you, sorry.” Roman said, trying to approach his friend. Usually this prank only had the results of Virgil cussing him out.

Virgil, however, didn’t reply, too busy trying to breathe properly. He didn’t hear Roman. And if he did, he couldn’t understand why he was being called by a different name than his own.

“Virgil?” Roman moved to touch him, before realizing that was a bad idea. “Virgil. Virgil, can you hear me?”

Obviously not, Roman thought, as he moved to the door. “Emile!!” He called out. “Remy!! Emile!!!”

Both adults didn’t take long to appear, pushing Roman aside to hurry to Virgil’s side. Roman left the room, not wanting to overwhelm Virgil.

He watched some show with Andy until Virgil came back down, with a blanket over his shoulders.

Janus came back to himself feeling something over his shoulders. A weighted blanket. It felt nice. In front of him were two adults, looking at him with concern.

“Virgil? Are you back with us?” One of them, the one with a leather jacket, asked.

Right. He was in Virgil’s body. With Virgil’s dads.

“I’m ok… just… tired” He said.

The other one smiled fondly. “It’s ok. Do you want to talk about it?”

“I just… got startled. And… I don’t know.” Janus tried to explain.

“It’s ok.” The leather jacket said. “Roman and Andy are downstairs. Want to talk to them?”

Janus didn’t want to talk to them. However, he nodded. He didn’t want to upset them any further.

He walked down the stairs wrapped in the blanket, who started acting as a cape. He saw Roman and Andy in the couch, watching cartoons. Although they didn’t seem to be paying much attention to them, because they turned to him as soon as he stepped into the living room. Roman turned the TV volume down.

“Hey” He said. “I’m… uh, sorry. Didn’t mean to cause this”

Janus sat on the couch corner. “It’s ok. It wasn’t your fault”

Roman looked guilty. He looked a lot like Remus. Sighting, he opened his arms and allowed both Roman and Andy to hug him.

And if he cried a little when Virgil’s parents joined, well, then no one can blame him.

Janus woke up in his bed. In his body. He felt like crying, but he had things to do. He dragged himself out of bed, grunting in pain when he placed too much weight on his bad leg. He looked at his legs, then noticed the cuts, the swollen ankle, and the pain on his cheek.

“Great. One day and he fucks up my life. Great” He said, as he limped to get around to carry on with his day.

He went downstairs, only to be surprised by both of his parents standing in the kitchen.

“Father. Mother.” He greeted them. “What are you doing up so early?”

“I told you we would talk about this with your father.” His mother said, with a cigarette already on her lips.

Janus prayed Virgil hadn’t fucked up too badly. “Talk about what?” He asked.

“Don’t play dumb with me, son” His father spat. “You think you can go around kissing boys and being a degenerate without us noticing? I should’ve known from the moment you bought those stupid shoes.”

Janus swallowed hard. So that’s what the were talking about. About Remus, the high heels.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t kissed anyone.” He lied, hoping he wouldn’t get hurt. He started walking away slowly.

His father scoffed, grabbing Janus’s by the arm with an iron grip. “Don’t lie to me, you little shit. After all the effort we put in you, this is how you repay us?”

“I didn’t do anything!!” Janus screamed.

But his parents didn’t listen.

Virgil woke up in the couch, so relieved to have finally switched back. His weighted blanket around him and Andy asleep snuggling up to him. His dad was asleep on the sofa next to him.

“Hey” Said Pops, from the door’s threshold. “How are you feeling?”

“‘M fine” Virgil said, looking at him.

His father made the way into the couch, sitting next to him. “Roman left a few hours ago, he says he’s sorry for causing you to panic”

“It’s not his fault” Virgil says, not sure what Janus did on his body. “I was overwhelmed, Roman just made me tip over the edge.”

“You know you can talk to us when you’re feeling this way, right?” Pops said, rubbing Virgil’s back.

“I know” Virgil sighted. “I just… thought it’d go away. But it didn’t” He looked at Pops in the eye. “I’m okay now, I swear”

“Fine. I’ll help you get off this gremlin.” His father said, moving to Andy’s side. “You need a change of clothes”

Virgil looked at his clothes, stained with paint. “Yeah, I do” He laughed, getting up. “I’ll be upstairs”

As he said, he went upstairs, and got changed. He couldn’t help to notice the tidiness in his room, or the fact that his homework was done almost perfectly. Maybe Janus wasn't that bad.

He checked his drawers. The only thing Janus seemed to have taken were the headphones, so that was one less worry.

He thought back to his day as Janus. He had gotten him in so much trouble. Maybe he should check on him.

He grabbed his phone to look at the chat they had shared. Nothing. Janus had erased it, and Virgil failed to comprehend why.

He had, however, a few (many) texts of Roman apologizing. And Patton sending cat memes.

He tried to get his mind to change the subject, to stop worrying about something he couldn’t control. It wasn’t his fault if Janus had abusive parents.

His gazed focused on the book on his bed. He had lend it to Logan a few weeks ago. So that’s why Roman was here, he thought.

He grabbed the book, and despite having read it a few times already, he started again. He needed to think of something else.

However, life had other plans. As the bell rang, and he heard his dad yell “I got it” before opening.

Virgil left the book aside and moved downstairs. He peeked to see what his dad was doing. And then he saw Janus.

Janus was holding onto the doorframe as if his life depended on it. Blood dripped from his nose and lips. He held his ribs with his free hand, hunching as he tried no to stand on his bad leg.

Virgil ran downstairs while his father invited Janus in, quickly shutting the door and helping him to walk. Janus was seated on the couch, Virgil at his side. He was thankful Andy wasn’t here right now, Janus wasn’t exactly a pleasant sight right now.

“Janus, Jan” Virgil called. “What happened?”

Janus cleaned the blood from his chin with the back of his hand. “My… I got kicked out.” He said, holding back a sob. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come here, but Remus lives so far away and I didn’t know where to go…”

Virgil placed his hand on his back, trying to comfort him. “It’s ok, I’m so sorry I got you in that mess, Janus, I swear I didn’t want t–”

“They would’ve found out eventually.” Janus cut him off. “You just got unlucky”

Virgil didn’t know how to reply. He kept quiet, as his father came down with his dad. Janus was asked a few questions and Virgil stays by his side, providing the little comfort he could give. Janus refused to go to a hospital right away, so Virgil’s dad tried to remember the few things he knew about first aid.

“Hey” Virgil said. “If I call Remus, would you agree to go to a hospital?” He asked, hoping to convince Janus.

Janus seemed to hesitate, for just a second. “Ok” He said, his voice barely louder than a whisper. “I will”

Virgil gave him a reassuring squeeze before practically running upstairs to grab his cellphone. He took a moment to even his breaths and control his hands before looking for Roman’s contact. He didn’t have Remus's, but both of them should be together, right? Right.

He bit his nails as he waited for Roman to pick up the phone.

 _“Hey, Hot Topic, sorry for yesterday. You need anything?”_ Roman greeted him, cheerful as ever.

“I need to speak to Remus” Virgil said, brushing his hand against the mattress. He liked the texture. It kept him calm. “Can you pass him the phone please?”

 _“Should I be offended that you preffer my brother over me?”_ Roman joked.

“Roman” Virgil said, with a warning tone. “I’m not joking. I need to talk to Remus”

 _“Fine, fine, I was just joking, jeez”_ Roman said. It was followed by some background noises, and some yelling in what Virgil assumed it was Spanish. Then some struggling, and finally the vice he wanted to talk to was heard.

 _“Sup, Emo boy”_ He heard Remus say in a sing song tone. _“What do you need me for?”_

“It’s Janus” Virgil said.

Remus voice changed tone immediately. _“What’s wrong with Dee?”_

“He’s… He’s here.” Virgil settled for explaining this when he saw them face to face. “Can you come over? He needs you here”

 _“I’m not allowed to drive”_ Remus said, and Virgil could hear Roman making a sassy remark on the background. _“I’ll force Roman to drive me there, be there in five. Bye!”_

Before Virgil could say anything, Remus hung up.

For the first time ever, Remus was right on time. Even a little bit earlier than necessary. Virgil waited at the door, and he was able of witness how Remus practically jumped off the car before Roman stopped.

Remus ignored Virgil and entered the house running. Virgil followed him.

Janus sat at the couch, Virgil’s blanket over his shoulders, a cup of hot chocolate on his hands and Andy’s plushie at his side. He stopped staring at nothing the moment he heard Remus, turning to him.

Remus stopped dead when he saw the state Janus was in. Janus left the mug on the table, moving to stand up. He had no change of doing so, as Remus jumped into his arms, pushing him into the couch. Janus grunted in pain. Remus immediately pulled away.

“Sorry!” He said, fixing the blanket. “Who did this?!” Remus gestured to Janus, trying not to scream. “I’m going to kill them!!!”

Roman entered the house, closing the door behind him. “Remus you’re not killing any–” He dropped the sentence when he saw them both. “Ok, maybe you are…”

Virgil nudged him and gestured to the kitchen, where his parents were discussing what to do. Both of them decided to give the lovebirds some privacy.

“I’m fine, Rem” Janus said, taking Remus hands to calm him down. “I’m alright.”

“No you’re not!!!” Remus whisper-yelled. “Look at you! You look horrible!”

Janus laughed. “Why, thank you, you also look great.”

Remus pouted. “Who did this to you?”

“My mother saw us… you know” Janus sighted. “It’s not your fault. You know my parents are…”

“Assholes, Dee, they’re assholes” Remus said, feeling the urge of killing them increase.

“Not good parents.” Janus said, holding back a laugh.

Remus laughed, which prompted Janus to laugh too. “Can I kiss you?” Remus asked.

Janus smiled and moved forward to kiss him. Remus let go of his hands, holding Janus close. Janus wrapped his arms around him.

Between kisses, Remus muttered something. “You should go to the hospital. Infections are a bitch”

Janus laughed and kissed him again. “I will” He kissed him again. “You’ll have to carry me there, though”

“I’d gladly do that” Remus said.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Virgil served Roman a cup of hot chocolate, while his parents talked with Andy. The seven year old didn’t understand the situation happening.

Roman stared at his drink, listening to his brother and Janus speak from the other room. “So… Janus” He said, not looking up.

Virgil shrugged. “Yeah, Janus.” He agreed. “His parents are pieces of crap”

“I should’ve known, he always came over with bruises and injuries.” He mentioned, looking back at the few moments they talked.

“You can’t be everyone’s hero, Princey.” Virgil said. “Beside, Janus’s into the other twin. Which I find… grossly cute?”

Roman snorted. “Shut up, you’re into the nerd boy” He said.

“And you have a massive crush on Patton, but no one’s mention it, are they?” Virgil bit back, blushing red.

Roman gasped, letting some offended Princey noises™ and blushing. Virgil laughed.

“Virgil!” Virgil’s dad called from the hallway. “We’re leaving with Remus and Janus! Take care of Andy!”

“Ok, bye dad!” Virgil shouted back. He then finished his drink at once, leaving the mug on the sink. He then turned to Roman. “Do you want to play video games with Andy?”

“Minecraft?” Roman asked, leaving his mug along Virgil’s.

“Minecraft.” Virgil confirmed.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed, leave a comment or something to boost my self esteem.  
> Thanks for reading.
> 
> Edit (november 2020): Goddamnit this was full of spelling mistakes, what the fuck.


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